TFR Staff

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 7: Political Activism, Deceptive Cities, and Chapter 313 Tax Abatements

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss political activism in fiscal policy, deceptive cities raising taxes, and chapter 313 tax abatements.   Articles Referenced The Importance of Political Activism in Fiscal Policy (9.26.2022) Fort Worth Slaps…

Explainers

Explainer: What Are 313 Tax Abatements?

A topic that has become more popular recently due to Speaker Dade Phelan’s support for their renewal is Chapter 313 tax abatements. However, when interacting with taxpayers, I have noticed that most people have no clue about the controversial program….

NewsLocal

Fort Worth Slaps Taxpayers in the Face, Raises Taxes

It happened again: yet another deceptive tax increase by a major city. Last night, Fort Worth officially adopted its new tax rate of 71.25. This comes despite opposition from the public and two city council members dissenting to the tax…

Commentary

The Importance of Political Activism in Fiscal Policy

In the past year, conservatives have seen a lot of political activism in reaction to the Biden administration’s failures. We have also seen backlash from social norms moving away from traditional values. For instance, we have seen conservatives become politically…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 6: Fed Rate Hikes, Executive Overreach, & Eating Crickets

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss recent federal reserve rate hikes, Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s executive overreach, and eating crickets.   Articles Referenced Abbott Refuses to Relinquish Power, Extends COVID Emergency Again (9.20.22) Explainer: What…

NewsState

Abbott Refuses to Relinquish Power, Extends COVID Emergency Again

Yesterday, Abbott renewed his COVID disaster declaration for another 30 days. Texas is now lagging behind the rest of the nation as one of only 12 states that have refused to lay down their unconstitutional executive power. This marks the…

Explainers

Explainer: What Is the World Economic Forum?

For the last few years, it’s been hard to go to a grassroots gathering without at least a mention of the World Economic Forum or a quote from the infamous Klaus Schwab. If you haven’t heard of the World Economic…

NewsState

Senate Committee on Local Government Meets on Important Taxpayer Items

This week, the Senate Committee on Local Government met to deal with a list of issues and charges, some of which involved property taxes, taxpayer-funded lobbying, and appraisal reform. In many ways, this was the Senate version of the charges…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 5: Senate Committee Discusses Issues Important to Texas Taxpayers

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss the Biden administration gaffe on inflation and the Texas Senate Local Government Committee hearings this week where they discussed property tax reform and taxpayer-funded lobbying.   Articles Referenced Senate…

NewsState

House Committees Met on Issues Important to Texas Taxpayers

On Thursday, both the Texas House Appropriations and Ways and Means Committees held interim public hearings in preparation for the upcoming legislative session set to begin in January of 2023. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility was there in person to help…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 4: Special Episode from the Texas Capitol

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss observations from Texas House Appropriations and Ways & Means Committee hearings that took place Thursday where they discussed things like property tax, appraisal reform, corporate welfare, and state spending. We…

News

Eliminate Property Tax: By the Numbers

Recently, the 22,000-member Facebook group Eliminate the Property TaxΒ featured a write-up by group admin Russell Bennett that supports House Bill 3742 (from the 83rd legislative session) and explains why their group is still in support of the bill, which they…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 3: Student Loan Debt Debate & Texas Property Taxes

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss how in the debate over student loan debt ‘forgiveness’, higher education institutions are largely escaping blame as well as deception being used by local governments in Texas when it…

NewsLocal

Deceptive Duncanville: Status Quo for Local Politics

As we have begun to report on cities adopting new tax rates and many failing to adopt the no-new-revenue rate, a number of folks have reached out to us at Texans for Fiscal Responsibility about the deceptive practices reducing transparency…

Podcast - Taxpayer Talks

Episode 2: Student Loan Debt & Texas Property Taxes

Episode Description πŸ’° In this episode of π—§π—”π—«π—£π—”π—¬π—˜π—₯ π—§π—”π—Ÿπ—žπ—¦, we discuss the recently announced student debt ‘cancelation’ plan from the Biden Administration and the fact that none of the five largest cities in Texas are adopting the ‘No-New-Revenue’ tax rate…